Match box and lighter.



F. J. SEAVER. MATCH BOX AND LIGHTER. APPLICATION FILED AUG-i6. 1911.

Patented Dec, 4:, 191?.

F. J. WWW

$1? H. mm

FRANK J. SEAVER, 0F WAI'ISFIELD, VERMONT.

MATCH BOX AND LIGHTER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 4%, 191W.

Application filed. August 16, 1917. Serial No. 186,562.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK J. SEAVER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Waitsfield, in the county of WVashington, State of Vermont, have invented a new and useful Match Box and Lighter; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The present invention relates to a match carrying case which embodies novel features of construction whereby it can be readily mounted upon some convenient portion of a vehicle or automobile, such as the dash board, thereby placing a supply of matches at the disposal of the occupants of the vehicle and also providing a surface upon which the matches can be scratched so that. there will be no occasion to mar the varnished or polished portions of the vehicle by the scratching of matches thereon.

Further objects of the invention are to provide a match receiving casing of this character which is comparatively simple and inexpensive in its construction, which can be easily mounted in'position upon the dash board of a vehicle or any other suitable support, which holds a supply of matches in such a manner that access can be readily obtained thereto at any time, although there is no danger of the matches being taken by children or being reached by mice, and which holds the matches firmly in position so that they will not shake about and rattle when the vehicle is in motion.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists in certain novel combinations and arrangements of the parts as will more fully appear as the description proceeds, the novel features thereof being pointed out in the appended claims.

For a full understanding of the invention, reference is to be had to the following description and accompanying drawing, in which Figure 1 is a front elevation of a match carrier constructed in accordanc with the invention, the door at the outer end of the casing being shown as closed.

Fig. 2 is a similar view with the door swung outwardly into an open position.

F1g. 3 is a vertical sectional view through the match carrier, the door appearing in a closed position.

Fig. f is a similar view with the door in an open position, and,

Fig. 5 is a front elevation of a slightly modified form of the match carrier.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the following description and indicated in all of the views of the drawing by the same reference characters.

Referring to the drawings, which illustrate one embodiment of the invention the numeral 1 designates a short tubular casing which is provided at opposite ends thereof with outstanding peripheral flanges, the flange 2 at the inner end thereof being adapted to be secured to some vertical support, such as the dash board of an automobile or other vehicle, by suitable fastening members 3, while the flange at at the outer end of the casing has the edges of a cover plate 5 bent rearwardly around the same. This cover plate 5 is formed with a centrally disposed rectangular opening which has an outwardly swinging door 6 hingedly connected at 7 to one side thereof, said door being provided with a suitable latch 8 by means of which it can be locked in a closed position. 'A panel 9 which is applied to the outer face of the door provides a roughened or suitably treated surface for the striking of matches. At the inner face of the door 6 there is provided an angle bracket 10, the horizontal arm of the bracket carrying a block or projection 11 which extends upwardly and is of a suitable size to t the tubular outer casing 12 of one of the conventional boxes in which safety matches are commonly packed. The space between the vertical arm of the angle bracket 10 and the back of the door 6 corresponds to the thickness of a conventional box for safety matches, so that the box of matches can be mounted upon the bracket by inserting it between the vertical arm of the bracket and the door and causing the projection 11 to enter the lower end of the tubular outer casing of the box, thereby causing the upper ends of the matches, indicated at 13, to project upwardly above the end. of the box 12. The inner slide within. which the matches are packed could be thrown away or the upper end thereof broken out. A guard plate 1 1 is arranged to fit over the upper end of the match box and hold the matches in position therein when the door 6 is closed. This guard plate is carried by an arm 15 which is-hingedly connected at 16 to the upper end of the angle bracket 10, a spring 17 normally tending to swing the arm 15 away fromthe door to move the guard plate 14 into inoperative position. Anti-friction rollers 19 may be applied to the swinging end of the arm 15 and arranged to engage the vertical surface at the back of the tubular casing for swinging the arm 15 forwardly and moving the guard plate 14 into operative position when the door 6 is closed. However, as soon as the door 6 is opened the spring 17 will throw the guard plate 14: into inoperative position, thereby uncovering the upper ends 13 of the matches so that oneor more of them can be easily withdrawn. If desired, the arm 15 may carry a clamping bar 20, the ends of which are extended laterally, as indicated at 21, and secured to the arm 15. The ends 21 have a resilient action so that when the guard plate 14: is in operative position the clamping bar will yieldably engage the upper ends of the matches and clamp them against the door so that they will not rattle or shake about when the vehicle is in motion. It will be understood that with this construction the matches will be held in such a manner that they are readily accessible, although there is no danger of the matches being taken by children, or of being gnawed upon by mice. The tubular casing may be of any desired shape or configuration. In Fig. 1 the tubular casing l is cylindrical in shape, while in the slight modification shown in Fig. 5 the casing 1 is rectangular in shape.

I claim:

1. A match carrier including a tubular casing adapted to have one end thereof applied to a vertical support and provided at its other end with a cover plate having an opening therein, a door for the opening, a match box supporting bracket applied to the inner face of the door, and a guard plate mounted upon the said bracket and movable over the upper end of the match box to retain the matches in position therein.

2. 'A match carrier including a tubular casing adapted to have one end thereof applied to a vertical support and provided at its other end with a cover plate having an opening therein, a door for the opening, a match box supporting bracket mounted upon the door, a swinging guard plate movable the other end with a cover plate having an opening therein, an outwardly swinging door for closing the opening, an angle bracket projecting from the inner face of the door and having a projection on the horizontal arm thereof to enter the low-er end of the matchbox, and hold the upper ends of the matches in a projected position, a swinging guard plate carried by the bracket and movable over the upper ends of thematches to retain them in position, a spring for swinging the guard plate outwardly into inoperative position, and a roller arranged in connection with the guard plate for engagement with the vertical surface at the inner end of the casing to swing the guard plate into operative position when the door is closed.

1-. A match carrier including a casing adapted to be applied to a support and pro vided with a cover plate having an opening therein, a door for 01081119; the opening, a match box supporting bracket applied to the inner face of the door, a resilient clamping bar for engaging the matches to prevent them from shaking about in the box, means for moving the clamping bar into inoperative position when the door is opened, and means for moving the clamping bar into operative position when the door is closed.

5. A match carrier including a casing adapted to be applied to a support and provided with a cover plate having an opening therein, a door mounted to close the opening, a match box supporting bracket upon the inner face of the door, a guard plate movable over the ends of the matches to retain them in position within the box, yielding means normally tending to swing the guard plate outwardly into inoperative position, and

means for automatically moving the guard plate into operative position when the door is closed, and a yieldably mounted clamping bar associated with the guard plate for engagement with the matches to prevent them from shaking about within the box.

6. A match carrier including a casing adapted to be applied to a support, and provided with a cover plate having an opening therein, an outwardly swinging door for closing the opening, a match box supporting bracket upon the inner face of the door, a swinging guard plate movable over the ends of the matches to retain them in position Within the box, an arm carrying the guard plate and hinged to the bracket, a spring for normally swinging the arm rearvvardly to move the guard plate into inoperative position, means for automatically swinging the arm to bring the guard plate into operative position When the door is closed, and a resiliently mounted clamping bar carried by the arm for engagement With the matches to prevent them from shaking about Within 10 the box.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of tWO subscribing Witnesses.

FRANK J. SEAVER.

Witnesses:

G. H. SLEEPER, E. G. ATKINS.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. G. 

